Staff at a Hamilton grocery store caught a man stealing alcohol before he could leave the premises, a court heard.

Lairy Hassell, 60, from Pembroke, pleaded guilty to taking the items, as well as having drug equipment, when he appeared in Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

The court heard that in August last year, a manager at Miles Market saw Hassell place five bottles of liquor, valued at more than $200, into a bag and walk past the cashiers without paying.

Police were called and stopped Hassell before he could leave the area and he was taken to Hamilton Police Station and searched.

While searching him, officers found a container with a white residue on it which was seized and found to contain trace amounts of cocaine.

Senior magistrate Maxanne Anderson ordered that a social inquiry report and drug use assessment be written for Hassell and adjourned the case to June 9 for sentencing.

Hassell was released on $2,000 bail until that time.

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